Wiping device for engraving plates



J. W. JENNER. WIPING DEVICE FOR ENGRAVING PLATES.

FILED SEPT. 8. 1920.

Dec. 26, 1922. 1,440,084

barren STAKES JAMES YV. JENNER, OF LOUTSVILLE, KENTUGKY.

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A plication filed September 8, 1920. Serial No. 408,957.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatl, JAMES W. JENN R, a citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville in the coiinty of Jeflerson and State of lientucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in .Wiping Devices for Engraving Plates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in wiping devices for engraving plates, and has for its particular object to provide a driving mechanism for the feed-rolls of the wiper web which can be adjusted to feed varying lengths of the web to the wiper-pad, so that an engraving plate having more than one line of engraving. can be polished perfectly to print without smearing. The purpose of the device is to increase or lengthen the wiping surface or cloth, or what is known as the cloth wipe attachment to power embossing presses for the printing of engraved copper plates.

The objects of the invention are attained by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which I Figure 1 is a side elevation of the wiping device, and

Figure 2 is a plan view of a portion thereof.

Similar reference numerals in all of the figures of the drawing designate like parts.

In certain presses the wiping device embodies a tank 5 for containing a suitable liquid through which the web of wiping material passes, a pair of feed and pressure rolls (5 and 7, mounted in said tank which suitably engage the wiping web to draw the same from a supply-roller 8, a wiping pad 9 around which the wiping-web passes to polish the engraving plates,a take-off roller 10 that receives the wiping-web after it has passed over the wiping-pad, and a driving shaft 11 which is connected to the power driving mechanism of the press. The rolls 6 and 7 are mounted on shafts 12 and 13, re spectively, and the ends of the shafts are suitably mounted in the ends of the tank 5.

In the certain presses mentioned which are used extensively throughout the printing trade, the feed rollers 6 and 7 are driven by a comparatively small gear-wheel 14 mounted on the shaft 11, and a comparatively large gear-wheel 15 meshing therewith and mounted on the shaft of the front roller, as indicated diagrammatically by dotted lines in Figure l of the drawing. This old con struction and arrangement has proved to be successful in wiping engraving plates having only one line of printing, but the feed of the wiping cloth being limited to the length of only of an inch, it has been found that this amount of wiping material is insufiicient to remove excess ink on the plates having two or more lines of printing.

The present improvement consists of substltuting for the old gears 14 and 15, the sprocket wheels 16 and 17 mounted respectively on the shaft 11 and the shaft of the rear roller in the tank, and driving thesame preferably with a chain belt 18. With this means of driving, the length of feed of the wlping cloth at each wiping operation can be increased to two inches, an amount more than sufficient to successively wipe plates from one to ten linesof printing, or the full capacity of the press, the adjustment of the length of feed being controlled by the usual adjusting devices regularly built into the certain presses mentioned.

The driving belt 18 is preferably of a length to have a slack under he normal feed and is retained taut by a suitable tension wheel 19. This slack in the driving belt is provided to permit the substitution of a larger or smaller sprocket wheel on either shaft 11 or 13, so that the ratio of feed can be made greateror less as desired, and independent of usual adjusting devices, by simply replacing only one of the sprocket wheels by another of a different size.

The construction above described furnishes a more efficient and greater feed for the wiping cloth, in that the sprocket wheel 17 is secured to feed roller next to supply. roller 8, .or in other words, draws the web directly from the supply-roller, and the arrangement of the improved device is such, that as a wiping attachment of the old type using the gear drive, can be converted to the .new type by simply transposing the feed rollers, that is, exchanging the positions of the feed-rollers, thereby placing the roller with the extended end to the rear position in the tank and substituting the sprocketwheels 16 and 17 for the old gear-wheels l4: and 15.

In this manner, the great number of old wiping attachments on the presses now be ing used in the engraving establishments throughout the country, can be converted naaopea sprocket wheel on said power-shaft and also a sprocket wheel on the shaft of the rear feed-roller in the tank, and a sprocket-chain connecting said sprecket-wheels, one of said sprocket-wheels being removably mounted on its shaft whereby it can be interchanged with another wheel of a different size to feed a different length of the wiper-web t0 the wiper-pad to remove excess ink "from engraving-plates containing from two or more lines or engraved matter.

In testimony whereof I hereunto my signature. 7 JAMES w. JENNER. 

